How Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra terrified a 14-year-old Adarsh Gourav on Shah Rukh’s film set
Adarsh Gourav, who is currently busy promoting his film Tu Yaa Main, played the younger version of Shah Rukh Khan in My Name Is Khan. In a recent chat, the actor shared how he landed the role and recalled an on-set prank pulled by Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan.
In a conversation with Nayandeep Rakshit, alongside Shanaya Kapoor , Adarsh shared he was first called for the role of Shah Rukh’s son in the film. “I was 14 when this was shot. I had actually auditioned for the role of SRK’s son — and I didn’t get it. I blame my dad for how he made me learn the lines. It was a very bad audition,” he recalled.
Disheartened, the young actor assumed his chance had slipped away. “While waiting for the bus on my way back, I remember thinking , that’s it, I’m done. I had this one chance to be in an SRK film and I lost it.”
Months passed, and the audition was almost forgotten until he got a call again. “They called me again for an audition. I thought they were calling the wrong person because I had already been rejected. But they said they wanted me for another role, Shah Rukh Khan’s younger version.”
Adarsh was shown a clip of Shah Rukh Khan and asked to perform. “I just mimicked him. I had no idea what Asperger’s syndrome was at the time. I got the part.They said there was some similarity between SRK sir and me — maybe the eyes, I don’t know. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t sleep that night.”
Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan’s prank on Adarsh
Once on set, Adarsh found himself at the receiving end of an elaborate prank by assistant directors Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan, both of whom were working behind the scenes at the time. “I remember they convinced me that I had to swim through really dirty water underwater and come out from the other side for a scene,” he said with a laugh.
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“They would call me saying, ‘Adarsh, it’s your shot.’ I’d ask them what I had to do in the scene. I actually just had to sit on a cycle and pedal. But they told me, ‘You have to enter from here, swim underwater through the water and reach the other side.’ I didn’t know how to swim properly. I was so stressed,” he shared.
Eventually, he approached director Karan Johar for clarity. “I went to Karan sir and asked, ‘Has the scene changed? I didn’t know about this.’ He asked who told me that. I said, ‘Sid.’ He gave him a stern look and said there’s nothing like that, you just have to sit on the cycle and pedal.”
Adarsh’s first meeting with Shah Rukh Khan
Although Adarsh played a younger Shah Rukh Khan in My Name Is Khan, he never met the superstar during the film’s shoot. Their first meeting happened much later. Speaking to NDTV, Adarsh recalled finally meeting Shah Rukh Khan at Amitabh Bachchan’s residence, Prateeksha.
“It was insane. I somehow summoned the courage and walked up to him. I was just about to open my mouth when he launched into this whole thing, saying, ‘Main tereko batata hoon tu kaun hai!’”
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Shah Rukh Khan then went on to talk in detail about Adarsh’s work. “That’s when it really hit me. I kept thinking, how does he have the time? This man sleeps for four hours, works for 18 hours, and still knows who I am. I was so shocked by what was happening that I was completely teary-eyed. I didn’t imagine this moment would play out like this.”
Adarsh ask Shah Rukh for a hug. “I just said, ‘Sir, can I give you a hug, like really tight?’ And he said yes. He then went on to speak to me for nearly 40 minutes at a party where he could have spoken to anyone else. And that is Shah Rukh Khan.”
About My Name Is Khan
Released in 2010, My Name Is Khan starred Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Directed by Karan Johar, the film follows Rizwan Khan, an Indian Muslim with Asperger’s syndrome living in the US, who sets out on a journey to meet the President after post-9/11 discrimination shatters his family.
